With You
by Phoenix Wand
Summary: It's difficult to tell someone you care for them, especially when everything you do seems to go over their head. Tsuzuki x Hisoka Valentine's Day story.
1. A Bear

Title; With You

Rating; T (It's nice? It's _fluffy?!_ AGH! T is really just in case.)

Disclaimer; I wish I owned it. I also wish I owned Kyouya from Ouran High School Host Club, and Soubi from Loveless. …Yeah, that'd be nice.

Author's Note; Oh my gosh! -jump jump, dance dance- I got a new computer! It's shiny and fast and not possessed. I think. At least it hasn't acted possessed, so I'm happy. Only one problem- no A drive, or as I intelligently put it "the disk-y thing". So, unfortunately, I can't transfer all my files over yet, and I'm going to probably have to stay after school to do it. Which is going to stink, especially since I'm so close to finishing up second chapter of _Freefall_. Anyway, enough about that. I wanted to write a little fiction for Valentine's Day, and I think I've been neglecting Tsuzuki and Hisoka, so this story's for them.

…Of course, there's Watari x Tatsumi, too. What else would you expect?

* * *

"You've given me so many things that I've never had,  
And all in all I know it's you that always pulls me through,  
If you reach deep inside you'll see my heart is true."

-12 Stones, _The Way I Feel_

There was no denying that Hisoka was a particularly smart kid; though calling him "kid" might have earned the speaker severe bodily harm. However, there were times when he missed things. And Watari would laugh while Tatsumi and Wakaba had small, knowing smiles on their faces, because as much as Hisoka would protest, was still, in so many ways, a child.

Because the entire time it was happening, he never noticed that he had someone who adored him so completely.

------

"Hisoka! C'mon, Hisoka!"

The boy in question glanced up at his partner with large, green eyes. Was it a good idea to follow him?

"Come on."

The question wasn't so much whether it was a good idea, he realized, as whether or not he could avoid it. Hisoka was fairly certain he couldn't. So, with only mild grumbling under his breath and trepidation, he followed his partner down the city street of Kyushu. Anything which made Tsuzuki this happy was most likely dangerous to his health.

The man in question waited for him with a wide smile and nothing to belie his patience with his younger partner's slowed pace. Rather, he was leaning languidly against one of the shop walls, clad in his ritualistic black trench coat and worn black suit.

Hisoka in his grey double breasted coat and dark blue scarf and gloves, could not understand how his partner could find such joy in anything about this day. It was cold. Like heat, Hisoka could not find much love of these frigid days, and he much preferred fall to either extremes. It was February eighth, though, and so that meant it was not only cold, but borderline freezing.

The other inevitable of February, or at least for the first two weeks, was a multitude of gaudy red and pink decorations around the shops, celebrating Valentine's Day. And there were couples; lots of couples. Hisoka sighed slightly to himself as he drew even with Tsuzuki, and looked up to meet bright purple eyes.

"There's something I wanted to show you, Hisoka." The boy wasn't given time to protest (which he probably would have,) when Tsuzuki grasped his wrist and firmly encouraged the younger Shinigami to follow him into a nearby shop. From even the slight touch, Hisoka could positively drown in the happy excitement his partner seemed to be constantly feeling. He was forced to stop when the boy pressed the heels of his scuffed sneakers against the white and black checkered linoleum.

Those eyes were on Hisoka again, and he had only a moment to think, stupidly, they reminded him more of iolites than of amethysts, before he collected himself enough to sputter, "T-Tsuzuki, this is a _toy shop_." The black haired man had just looked at him, and now Hisoka was sure he knew how Tsuzuki felt when he, himself, looked at the older Shinigami as though he was being especially dense.

"Of course it's a toy shop, Hisoka, now come on. There's something I want to show you." And Tsuzuki proceeded to cheerfully drag his partner after him as he headed through the store. The boy found that he didn't want to know why Tsuzuki knew this shop as well as he did.

Hisoka wasn't quite sure how this whole thing had happened. Tsuzuki had wanted to eat out for lunch, and they had ended up in Kyushu. For once, lunch had ended somewhat early, and Tsuzuki had insisted on looking around the city streets, despite the fact that it was cold. Hisoka had pointed this out, and it seemed as though not long after that he'd ended up in a toy shop of all things.

"I'm not a—"

"Here." Tsuzuki wisely cut off his younger partner's oft repeated protests by stopping in front of one of the shelves and dropping something into his hands. Something…fluffy.

Hisoka blinked down at something which was silky and soft against his palms. Sandy golden fur seemed to sprout from every inch, save for a small, dark brown nose, and a pair of eyes which seemed to resemble a darkened shade of emerald. A small, green and tan plaid bow was wrapped around its neck, and the flats of its paws seemed to be made from tan velvet.

The teddy bear was quite possibly one of the cutesiest things Hisoka had ever seen.

"Tsuzuki, what is…?"

"It's for you," the older man clarified, when it became increasingly apparent that Hisoka would not be finishing the thought. He smiled in a very Tsuzuki-ish manner, and added, "It reminded me of you, don't glare at me—" Hisoka was indeed, glowering a little bit at Tsuzuki's words, "I only said that because of its eyes. See?" He pointed to the plastic, unseeing green eyes.

And Hisoka could only watch, somewhat dumbstruck, as Tsuzuki picked up the bear and walked towards the cashier. Words returned to him after a moment, though, or at least enough to ask, "Why a-a stuffed animal of all things?" He turned a fetching shade of red, glanced at the brightly lit and flamboyantly painted store around him before he could meet his partner's eyes. "It seems a bit…ridiculous."

Tsuzuki smiled charmingly for the woman who ran the cashier. She seemed the type to be a mother figure to any, and the edges of her eyes crinkled into a smile when she saw the blushing boy and the man buying a stuffed animal. Cute. "Here you are," she said, and placed the bear carefully into a brown paper bag with small, thin rope handles at the top. "Have a nice day."

Tsuzuki took the bag and held it out to his partner, but the younger boy hesitated to take it from him. He cast another smile to the woman over his shoulder as they exited (no reason to be rude,) before turning his attention back to Hisoka. "Come on, it's not ridiculous." He smiled down at the sandy blonde head, hiding a face which was staring at his own sneakers as though they had done him great personal offense. "I have a stuffed animal or two back at my apartment."

"That's not something you want to admit to people."

With a sigh, Tsuzuki held the bag out once more. "You still have nightmares, right? Well, this will help because you won't feel lonely." He smiled, charmingly, disarmingly, and in the way that made most people want to do whatever he asked. "You can use it when I'm not there."

Hisoka was rivaling the shade of an apple now, his eyes wide, and he hissed, "Idiot." But since he took the bag and couldn't quite meet Tsuzuki's eye, the older Shinigami realized it wasn't out of anger so much as out of embarrassment.

It was as good as any heartfelt thank you, and he couldn't keep a smile off his face as they went back to Meifu. The little side trip had been worth it.

------

Okay, maybe not as worth it.

"Tsuzuki-san, as much I realize that time management has proven difficult for you, I would suggest that you _not _extend your lunchtime beyond the allotted hour again."

Tsuzuki cringed and pouted up at a frowning Tatsumi, who was glaring at him over the edges of his glasses. "B-but, Tatsumi! I was only a little bit late."

Tatsumi stood in the doorway to his office, arms crossed and staring sternly at the newly arrived partners. "Twenty minutes is only a little bit late to you? Never mind," he held up a hand, "I will ask for the sake of my peace of mind you not answer that." His eyes trailed to the younger of the two and he added, "Dare I ask what was so important, Kurosaki-kun?"

Hisoka hesitated, glancing over at the small brown bag that rested on his desk. Somehow, he had the feeling that explaining to Tatsumi Tsuzuki was looking through toyshops wouldn't help. "Probably not," he answered honestly. "But if it makes you feel any better, it wasn't anything destructive and you won't be receiving any bills." He sat down at his desk, picked up the files from the previous case, and attempted to tune out Tatsumi's scolding.

"I'd actually prefer he be destructive elsewhere…preferably where I don't have to deal with the repercussions."

"I'm not that bad, Tatsumi," Tsuzuki protested. "Don't be mean."

The raised eyebrow seemed to at once communicate an air of amusement and of disbelief. "How many times have you destroyed the library?"

"…Twice."

"Three times," Tatsumi corrected. "We had to rebuild it after the casualties of another argument between you and Terazuma-san. Remember?" The entire span of the argument had been Terazuma yelling at Tsuzuki for fawning over Wakaba, Tsuzuki insulting him, Terazuma making insinuations about Hisoka and Tsuzuki, and then the Shikigami had been released. It had all gone to Hell in a hand basket (somewhat literally) after that.

"The first time with Sagatanasu wasn't my fault," Tsuzuki pointed out, meekly.

Tatsumi paused. "Technically." He stepped to the side somewhat, indicating Tsuzuki should enter the office. "I have a few other matters to speak with you about, in any case. If you would be so kind…?" The secretary trailed off in a manner suggesting Tsuzuki wasn't going to be allowed a choice in this.

With an almost silent whimper, Tsuzuki did as he was bid. Hisoka watched, thinking he would be shocked if Tsuzuki wasn't pouting when he walked out.

------

"And it didn't _work_?"

Tsuzuki shook his head. "Not really. I mean…well, no."

Tatsumi sat at his desk, looking very tempted to loose his shadows on somebody. He wasn't sure exactly who yet, but pretty soon it was going to end up happening. "Why, exactly, is it necessary to discuss this in my office?"

"Because this is important, Tatsumi, and you invited Tsuzuki in when I was here, so that's your own fault." Watari grinned at his lover around a curtain of blonde hair, which only seemed to further irritate the secretary…something the scientist delighted in far too much.

Tatsumi folded his arms over his desk, his expression as close to exasperation as his well bred upbringing would allow. "So, let me see if I understand you. Because I needed to speak with Tsuzuki-san about his vagrantly flaunting the funds supplied to him it's my fault that my office has now become your place to trade gossip?"

"Precisely," Watari said with a smile and turned promptly back towards Tsuzuki. "So you gave him a gift and…nothing? What did you give him?"

Tsuzuki seemed to realize that while Tatsumi would threaten them within an inch of their afterlife, he was not actually at the point yet where the best bet would be to run, and quickly. "A stuffed bear," he replied.

There was a muffled sort of sound as Watari clasped a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. "Y-you got bon a teddy bear? Our bon? The one who, at any suggestion of the fact that he looks sixteen becomes more defensive than Fort Knox?"

"Uhm…yes."

A soft sigh came from Tatsumi, who appeared very aware that for as long as this discussion would take place he would get no peace. No peace meant that the tax refunds would have to wait, along with addressing the Accounting Division's complaints. "You didn't think the gift rather ill-fitted?" he asked, then realized he wanted no part in this conversation and added, "And you can't continue this discussion in your lab because…?"

Watari ignored him. "Well, I guess we'll just have to go with the original plan, then."

Tsuzuki nodded. "I'll come up with something tomorrow, I guess. I'll just have to think about it."

"You have a week," Watari said, encouragingly.

"A week?" Tatsumi knew he would regret asking about anything Tsuzuki and Watari were plotting together. "Continue with what?" His eyes fell on Watari, sitting across from him, to explain.

The scientist was happy to oblige. "We're attempting to let bon know how Tsuzuki feels without scaring him—"

"And the stuffed animal didn't do that?"

"—and it's _difficult_," Watari continued as though the secretary hadn't interrupted, "because bon is just about as dense as you are about these things."

"I'm not dense," Tatsumi said, and noted how Tsuzuki was wisely staying silent for this portion of the conversation.

"You missed thirty-something years of subtle clues." Watari was grinning by now; the bickering had been a part of their friendship from nearly the first moment they met, and by now it was a welcomed habit to fall into.

"Oh, well, perhaps you should get Tsuzuki-san inebriated and suggest that he attempt to molest Kurosaki-kun outside his apartment building?"

"I was mildly buzzed, if that, and I didn't—"

Tsuzuki cut in, looking somewhat confused. "You want me to kiss him?" He was fairly certain that wouldn't work, he was also certain that Hisoka would kill him if he attempted it.

"No." Two voices spoke as one, both equally firm.

Tatsumi stood, collecting a file laying on his desk and heading for the door. "I am leaving as I have actual work to do, and by the time I return from the copy machine I would hope to see that both of you are doing something worth being paid for. I will, however, settle for having my office to myself." He made his way towards the door, suppressing a sigh; Watari and Tsuzuki combined were a force to be rivaled, and he knew when to a beat a retreat.

There was a pause after the door closed, broken by Tsuzuki. "So how long do we have, do you think?"

"Probably about five minutes," Watari replied. "In any case, did you have any ideas for tomorrow? Let's hear them."

"Sort of…."

The conversation passed quickly between them before Tatsumi returned and told both of them to leave now if they valued their working funds. Which was fine, because by which time, Tsuzuki had an idea formed in his mind.

* * *

Author's Notes; God, that was fun to write. I hope it's not too OoC and please tell me if it is. I'll try to correct it. This fiction will be seven chapters (small to medium length) culminating on, of course Valentine's Day. Silly Tatsumi, he didn't know it was Valentine's Day! Well, he wouldn't; I bet Watari gets Valentine's Day, he gets White Day. Originally, this was supposed to be based around one of Shakespeare's sonnets, number 149, but it didn't fit well enough for Tsuzuki and Hisoka at the ending, so I ended up just scrapping it and going with 12 Stones lyrics. On an ending note, in the fifth book, Tsuzuki has a stuffed penguin on his futon and something else, so I had to add that. Just so you know I'm not making that up. Please, read and review and I'll post again tomorrow. 


	2. A Flower

Title; With You

Rating; T (…shivering in corner Need angst...drama...)

Disclaimer; I just own the ideas, folks. Nothing else.

Author's Note; I just finished the first chapter and now I'm starting this one! Man, I'm tired, and my printer isn't working, so I can't pester my beta, so please forgive any errors you spot. I will do my best to read over them on my own, though. I really hope you guys appreciate the fluffiness, because I had to look up ideas. I was gagging (in case you can't tell, I'm not the most romantic person in the world). There was a suggestion which involved carving "I love you" into sticks of butter. …Anybody but me think that's weird? I settled on some ideas which I hope weren't too fluffy. Most of the ideas I had penned out on my own, but I needed a little help with some!

* * *

Rather than be ordinary, Watari had christened it "V. Day" with a wink and began a countdown. Somehow, Tsuzuki didn't appreciate the humor. The countdown was posted up on the wall of the lab, causing a few raised eyebrows, but most assumed that it simply meant that Watari was going to do something on Valentine's Day. Something meaning "don't touch anything edible and for the love of God, don't go near the lab on February 14th!"

------

Hisoka was suspicious. There was something going on, and though he wasn't sure what it was yet, he would find out. Oh, make no mistake. However, paperwork came first, it seemed. On a Friday afternoon it seemed a crime to be forced to read over tedious reports, file out, and then file them. His respect for Tatsumi was growing by the ever so slowly passing minute.

_The suspect in question…_. His train of thought was drifting away from him while he attempted to write, and Hisoka shook himself slightly. It was bad enough the way Tsuzuki slacked off, ignoring work, coming in late, and eating instead of doing his paperwork. Hisoka couldn't afford to do the same.

The night before, once he'd gotten home, Hisoka had taken the bear out of the paper bag, and after merely holding it in his hands and studying the animal, it had ended up on his bed. At the time, he'd justified the action to himself as having nowhere else to put it. However, he couldn't explain why he'd been looking at it as he drifted off to sleep.

The image of the grinning idiot had entered his mind with these thoughts, causing Hisoka to attempt to mentally shake himself once more. _Snap out of it._ This was getting ridiculous; even when Tsuzuki wasn't here in person he was distracting Hisoka, and now he couldn't even blame the older Shinigami for this because his own mind was betraying him. It was just insane.

He obviously needed a break, a chance to get away from the office, because his attention span had never before been this short. Tsuzuki had "stepped out for a moment" to finish up an errand or some such, and considering the day was almost over, Hisoka doubted he'd be seeing the man until after the weekend had officially started. Which, thankfully, was only a little while longer.

Which was fine. It wasn't as if he missed the idiot's overbearing presence in the office, because he could finally get some work down now. They never seemed to get paperwork in on time and Tatsumi was constantly getting angry with them, but at least Hisoka could turn in a couple more case files today.

He glanced down at the one he was working on and cursed under his breath. He'd been working on it for the last quarter of an hour and had managed to write all of two lines. Damn it, curse it, he blamed Tsuzuki.

This, of course, got him right back where he'd started, with a distraction in his mind that kept him from focusing on work. With a sigh, he laid his head to rest on his arms, closing his eyes. "Damn it," he grumbled softly.

"Are you okay?"

Hisoka cursed again (silently this time, at least,) and jerked his head up to look over at a familiar pair of purple eyes framed by wind ruffled ebony locks. "That" look was on Tsuzuki's face, too, the one which positively screamed overprotective and way too concerned. Hisoka hated that look, because he knew what was coming next; twenty questions. "I'm fine."

"You look exhausted," Tsuzuki mumbled, and sat down on the edge of his desk so that he was closer to his partner.

Hisoka decided not to mention that Tsuzuki's leg was barring him from opening his side drawer. "I'm fine," he repeated.

Tsuzuki looked less than convinced by the passively repeated answer. "Are you sure? If you're feeling sick, you should head home. Tatsumi wouldn't mind if you did—"

"I'm not sick, Tsuzuki. I'm fine." Hisoka added gentle strain to the last word and turned from the partner that was sitting only a few inches away from him (projecting absolutely every fiber of concern he was feeling,) to the work in front of him. Irritably, he tapped his pen in the margins of the page, trying to remember the specifics of the case. It had been a while ago, and he had read the informal report he'd drafted a month or so ago, back when it happened. However, he'd read it twenty minutes ago, and the details were escaping him at the moment.

He refused to acknowledge that it might have been the warm presence leaning over him to read the report he was _trying_ to write. It became harder to ignore when, after a few minutes, a small, blue flower was dropped onto the paper. There were multiple buds on the single stem, each with five pale blue petals equally spaced around a small, yellow circle.

With fingers that didn't seem to quite be working right, Hisoka picked up the small plant, and held it gently. He glanced over his shoulder at Tsuzuki, who was already heading for the door of their small office. "Tsuzuki, can you explain why you dropped a flower on my desk?"

Tsuzuki glanced over his shoulder and cast Hisoka a warm smile. "When I was out there was a girl on the corner selling flowers. I thought of you, and now I'm glad I did; you looked really down when I came in." He waved and opened the door to leave. "It's six, time to clock out for the day. You should head home and relax. See you tomorrow, Hisoka."

Hisoka, for an instant, could do no more than look at the door through which his partner had disappeared, then down at the flower in his hand. Two things occurred to him, one being that Tsuzuki was acting even stranger than usual lately, and the second being that he had no idea what sort of flower the man had dropped on his desk. His knowledge about anything floral began and ended with roses, and he couldn't say he liked those.

The flower leant to the air around it a pleasantly subtle smell, and Hisoka kept it in his hand as he put away the files, and put the ones he had finished in the bin for them. It was still in his hand when he pulled on his coat and buttoned it up, turned off the light, and closed the door to their shared office behind him. As the thin green stem rolled between his slim, youthful fingers, Hisoka finally realized something. It was odd how he'd never seen it before.

Pausing a moment in thought, he realized that it had become so obvious between Tsuzuki and himself. Even the idiot had noticed. They were getting to a point where not only were they spending almost everyday together, but it was becoming assumed on the older Shinigami's part even though it was the weekend and by all accounts Hisoka should have been getting some peace and quiet. Although, to be honest, he wasn't entirely sure whether it was a good or a bad thing that they had begun this little tradition of their own.

The boy continued his way out of the ministry building, his mind elsewhere and perhaps not paying as much attention as he should have been. The tip of his sneaker dragged on the steps down from the office, and he felt his balance waiver before giving out. Hisoka had barely had time to flinch when a large hand grabbed the back collar of his coat, causing him to stumble further, though, thankfully, not fall.

When his heart had somewhat slowed its frightful pounding, Hisoka turned, expecting to see concerned purple eyes, but rather was met with cool blue ones behind wire rimmed glasses. Tatsumi removed his hand from the coat, smoothed it out, and asked, "Are you all right, Kurosaki-kun?" He smiled, then, a little. "That would have been a nasty fall."

"I'm fine," Hisoka mumbled, and that was true. His heart was pounding, his adrenaline a little faster than normal, but he wasn't hurt, save for his pride that someone had seen him act so clumsily.

Unlike Tsuzuki, Tatsumi took the response without question. "Of course. You seem tired, though, so perhaps get some rest over the weekend?" He smiled, in an easy manner which was rarely seen inside the office. "If you end up as absent minded as Tsuzuki-san, then no work will ever be done."

"That would mean suggesting that any work gets done as it is," Hisoka replied, getting his bearings. In his right hand was still clasped the flower, no worse for the almost fall than he was, he noted, when he looked at it.

Tatsumi looked as well and then back up to Hisoka's face. "May I ask why you have a flower, Kurosaki-kun?" When the boy merely blinked at him, Tatsumi shook his head. "Never mind. Forget that I asked, but in any case, enjoy your weekend." He started down the steps (more gracefully than Hisoka had done,) and across the lawn.

"So much for waiting," came a mutter behind Hisoka, and he turned to see Watari. "Hey, bon. Why do you have a Forget-Me-Not?"

"A what?" Hisoka asked, too surprised by the entire ordeal and Watari's sudden appearance to string together his thoughts right away. The ministry was on any given day an odd place to work, admittedly, but this was above and beyond. He had no idea why everyone was acting so strangely.

Watari blinked at him from behind round glasses. "A Forget-Me-Not," he repeated, the pointed to the small plants. "The flowers. You don't seem like the type who appreciates botany."

Hisoka looked down at the flower still in his hand. "Neither do you."

"Touché," Watari replied with a smile. "Forget-Me-Not's are one of my favorites… though, sunflowers are first." 003 jumped happily on the scientist's shoulders, as if attesting to this fact. "I think they have something to do with faithful love and memories…." His words lapsed into thought, tilting his head slightly as if trying to remember something from long ago.

Tsuzuki didn't know the meaning, Hisoka reminded himself. He just saw the flower and bought it; impulse buying. Completely Tsuzuki. He looked up from the flower to Watari and told himself to stop staring at it.

"This is why I don't wait for you." Tatsumi had walked back over from where he'd been waiting at the gate. "Let's go. If we stay much longer we'll just have to pick up take-out."

"That's my ride," Watari said with a smile, and headed down the steps. "Bye, bon. I'll help, Seiichiro."

"No, save the experiments for the lab." Their words were becoming softly more distant as they walked away.

"Can one blow up rice?"

"You'd manage it." They turned a corner and were lost from sight and sound. Hisoka watched them go, before starting to head home himself. Though he had told himself before not to keep staring at the flower, he ended up looking at it every so often before he thought about it.

------

His bedroom was probably his favorite place in his home. Hisoka had made the house almost sterile, but in here, here had added a few human touches. The bed was comfortable, with a thick stripped cover and the teddy bear still rested against the pillows, covered by the comforter. Now, on the bedside table, he placed a glass in which the flower rested. He'd out sugar in the water (hadn't he read somewhere that it was good for flowers?) and then hadn't known where to put them. The kitchen and dining room were the same room, and he barely used the living room.

Hisoka lay down on the bed, turned on his side so that his eyes feel on the far wall, and his bedside table. The Forget-Me-Not looked fine; for all that they'd seemed to be out of water for a while. The boy didn't know the first thing about plants, though, beside the fact they needed water. He didn't want them to die.

Faithful love and memories. Hisoka made a small noise in the back of his throat. "Hmph." Tsuzuki, of course, would have no way of knowing what that meant, and Watari was just talking as much as he always was. That was all, he decided, because otherwise, he couldn't think of any reason why he would've gotten the flowers.

This was the first time he'd been given either a stuffed animal or flowers. Even when he'd been sick in the hospital, since they hadn't known the problem, he'd been confined to a clean room. It was… Hisoka paused. It was a nice feeling, knowing somebody wanted to get you something. Of course, that was just how Tsuzuki was.

Even though it was early, Hisoka reached up to turn out the lamp by his bed and, still in his jeans and tee shirt from that day, rolled over and closed his eyes. Even if he reached out to rest a hand on the bear from the day before, it could be excused; he was half-asleep.

* * *

Author's Notes; Wow, so much fluff. I saw another romance idea which had to do with wearing a trench coat and nothing else to work for your significant other. While that amused me, I think if Tsuzuki was stupid enough to try it, he'd be dead twice over. Next chapter, I'll give you a hint, the park! Tsuzuki, you come up with such generic ideas (which means I couldn't come up with something else….) Thank you for the reviews!

Nicole- Thank you! You're so nice. –feels awesomeness now-

Alice- Yes, teddy bears. Tsuzuki would do that, just 'cause it wouldn't occur to him to think more on Hisoka's level. He's trying more in this chapter. Yeah, I went back and looked, the book said "Someone left these here." So, I, being a calm and rational person, screamed, "Cover-up! They're his!"

Rin- I'm glad you're going to love it. It made you laugh? Oh, good! I always worry my sense of humor is a little too out there, but I always love to here that it really made someone smile. Sorry you almost woke everybody else up, though. –points to Watari and Tsuzuki- Blame them.

Laustic- In which case, I present more.

Kirihana- Really? Oh, thank you so much, and I'm glad to get you back into the fandom. I usually focus on Tatsumi x Watari, so I feel bad if I don't give Tsuzuki and Hisoka some love, too. They really are an adorable pairing. I hope I give you more to look forward to.

Until tomorrow, I remain humbly yours,  
--Phoenix


	3. A Day Together

Title; With You

Rating; T (I feel so odd writing fluffy-fluff.)

Disclaimer; I would say I own it, but I don't, and I don't want to be attacked my rabid lawyers bearing law suits. I don't have any money!

Author's Note; Okay, I have realized one thing; fan service sells. So, yay, let the fluff continue. Unfortunately, Watari and Tatsumi won't show up in this chapter, though they'll be back soon (ish). You can use their imaginations to think about what their doing (for the under eighteen version…they're playing a board game. Yeah, go with that). Hisoka and Tsuzuki fluff ahoy!

* * *

When Hisoka awoke the next morning, it was thankfully not to the incessant beeping of an alarm clock. He hated the things, despite their usefulness, and had remembered to turn his off for the weekend before he'd fallen asleep. He blinked sleepily in the morning light which slid through minute openings in his bedroom window's blinds, and slid out of bed.

As the boy changed into his clothes for the day (the jeans and tee shirt he'd forgotten to take off the night before now lay in a forlorn pile on the bed, awaiting the inevitable trip to the hamper,) he wondered when exactly his older partner would stop by. Tsuzuki would, of course, because he'd said he would. However, this would be after the older Shinigami woke up, actually got out of bed, dressed, and ate, so it may have been a little bit of a wait.

Glancing in the mirror which hung over his dresser, Hisoka flattened his hair in a passive way; he was lucky enough to have straight enough hair that he didn't have to worry about wrestling with a comb and hair brush every morning. His eyes caught, though, on the bed behind him, where the bear lay disconsolate at not being held and the flowers still rested on the dresser. Hisoka turned away from the mirror and walked over to them, lifting the glass they were in to be able to see them better.

Overnight they had not begun to wilt, and so he assumed he had been right about the sugar water. In fact, they had lent a pleasant scent to the air around them, one that was wonderfully subtle and sweet. Hisoka was beginning to understand why Tsuzuki was constantly attempting to get him to keep flowers in his room. It was nice.

Hisoka felt his mouth almost twitch into a smile at that thought, and he quickly put down the glass, only a little harder than he'd meant to. After washing up for the morning, he headed into his kitchen, momentarily debating between tea and coffee for the morning before deciding upon the former. Coffee was necessary during working hours, when his patience and ability to work long hours were tested. But tea was a pleasant way to wake up in the morning.

And even that point beside, he still had some of the Darjeeling which Tatsumi had given him for Christmas; second flush, but it was still perfect for any nice, peaceful weekend morning. Hisoka settled down at his small, scrubbed wooden table, his fingers clasped around a cup of the steaming drink.

However, it was decided that Murphy's Law and irony were now working together and neither liked him. He'd hardly had more than a sip when there came frenzied knocking on the door.

The sigh which escaped him as he pushed his chair back and stood was long. Hisoka padded in bare feet across his living room to his front door, muttering sarcastically under his breath, "Wonder who that could be?" and "One knock wouldn't suffice?" When he opened the door, though, he was met with a happily smiling Tsuzuki.

The taller man was sporting his regular black suit and trench coat (black tie messily loose; despite seventy odd years f practice he'd never quite mastered tying one properly,) his black hair was wind blown, his cheeks pink from the cold, and his eyes shining brightly. "Morning, Hisoka," Tsuzuki greeted cheerily, and held up a small white paper bag. "I brought you some breakfast."

Hisoka stood to the side to allow the other man in out of the cold, but started heading back to the kitchen while Tsuzuki was kicking off his black wingtips. "I really don't like doughnuts, Tsuzuki," he muttered, hiding a grimace. The confectionaries were always disgustingly sweet; he could never understand how Tsuzuki loved them.

Tsuzuki hung up his trench coat by the door and followed his partner into his kitchen. "It's not doughnuts," he said, looking a little proud of himself at this fact. He took a seat next to Hisoka at the table, and opened the bag to reveal two muffins, one with blueberries, the other with chocolate chips. "See? I got the chocolate for me," he added, a tad unnecessarily, "so don't worry about that."

"Oh," said Hisoka, and for a moment that was all he really could say, so surprised was he. Far more used to having Tsuzuki offer him chocolate doughnuts in an attempt to get him to eat, or pastries which might cause cardiac arrest merely by _looking_ at them, let alone eating them. In fact, Hisoka had started to wonder if Shinigami were immune to such things as well due to the fact that Tsuzuki hadn't suffered one already.

He took the blueberry muffin when it was placed in front of him, and cautiously tore off a piece to eat. It was not especially sweet, but it was pretty good, for all that he didn't like most baked goods. "Thanks," he mumbled, and when he was able to meet Tsuzuki eyes, he noticed that the other had the strangest expression on his face.

His emotions read fairly normal, happiness, general warmth and kindness, and a few others which Hisoka couldn't recognize. His expression was so familiar and foreign, though, like one he'd only ever seen given to other people. There was a fond little smile on his face and a certain expressive quality to his eyes.

Hisoka felt heat rise to his face, though he didn't know why, and so he quickly drank some of his tea and dropped his eyes.

------

The park, of all places.

Hisoka wasn't sure why Tsuzuki had picked this of all places to go out to, but in either case, they'd ended up here. The sidewalks which ran through the grassy areas of the park had many people standing around, loitering or else walking through, enjoying the day.

The reasoning behind the latter eluded Hisoka. How could you enjoy the day when the day was _cold_? From an objective view, for it being February, it was actually not as cold as it could have been, however Hisoka hunched his slim shoulders none the less when a breeze whipped past them. It wasn't that his jacket wasn't warm enough, but everywhere his jacket wasn't covering was cold.

Holding his hands up to his mouth, Hisoka breathed warm air onto them, providing brief warmth which faded too quickly. He frowned slightly and dropped them to rest, folded, across his waist.

Tsuzuki laughed, earning him a small glare. "You're as finicky as a cat about the cold," he said, then pulled off his black gloves and held them out to his partner. "Here."

Hisoka hesitated to take them. "They'll be huge on me, anyway," he muttered, his cheeks becoming slightly more pink. He blamed it on the cold.

"Doesn't matter," Tsuzuki insisted. "Your hands won't be cold." He sighed a little at the boy's tendency to be stubborn and grasped one of the boy's hands, pulling the glove on, and then repeating the gesture with the other. "See?"

"I was fine, you know," Hisoka murmured, but considering he couldn't quite meet Tsuzuki's eyes, instead staring at something just past his right ear, the protest wasn't quite as forceful as it could have been.

A warm grin was his reply, along with a cheery, "Then now you're even better." Tsuzuki glanced away from him briefly, when there was a voice crying out not too far away.

"Excuse me, sorry, please excuse me!"

A small card fluttered by their feet and Tsuzuki leaned down, picking it up. On the back was varying shades of blue plaid, on the front was a picture of a man and a woman, each holding cup in one hand, holding hands in the other, with something which resembled a lion's head with wings on the top.

Hisoka glanced from the card to Tsuzuki. "What is that?"

"Oh, gosh, thank you!" It was the girl who had been speaking before and trying to get around the small groups of people at the park. She had long dark brown hair and large eyes of the same color. "I lost about half my deck and that was the last one. It gave me a heck of a time catching it, though." Her age was probably only a few years older than Hisoka looked, and at the moment, she was glaring at the card which Tsuzuki held as though it had done her personal wrong. Which, considering the fact that it seemed as if she's just run the length of the park was likely.

Her dress was odd compared to the cleaner cut types walking around, though, a dark brown jacket, baggy jeans, and a scarf which looked as though it had possible every conceivable color under the sun. And perhaps a few not yet discovered.

Tsuzuki held the card out to her, and smiled. "Here you are, then."

"Thanks. I need to stop offering tarot readings on windy days," the girl muttered, and took the card. She glanced at the face and smiled. "Hey, you guys are pretty fortunate, though. This is the two of cups."

Hisoka could only too clearly remember their last run in with tarot cards and Muraki's affinity for them. He could easily say he had no true liking for them, but more specifically it was that they brought back rather unpleasant memories for him.

Tsuzuki nodded politely, but Hisoka could see his smile was one which was somewhat forced. "Is it? I never believed tarot."

"Yep, has to with happy and healthy relationships," the girl said, cheerily, apparently not off put by the less than thrilled responses she was receiving. "Do you want a free reading? Usually I charge, but since I half barged into you…."

Tsuzuki caught must have caught Hisoka's subtle frown because he, smiling brightly and falsely, shook his head. "Thanks, but we're okay."

The girl shrugged. "Suit yourself. Anyway, have a good day. Oh, and happy Valentine's Day!" With that, she took her cards and went off in the direction from which she'd came.

Hisoka cast an odd look at the girl's back, wondering if the girl was as strange as she had come off as. He suspected so. "People earn money reading tarot?" he asked. He'd seen people who had official shops with appointments, but never one set up outside.

"Yup," Tsuzuki said. "I guess so. I think I've also seen palmists and the like. It's popular I guess." He shrugged, then glanced down at the watch on his right wrist. "It's nearly eleven, Hisoka, do you feel like heading out for lunch?"

A scathing look was sent his way. "It's not even noon yet."

"…That's a no?"

"That's a no."

------

Ten minutes later, though, they'd ended up in a nice restaurant, with foods Hisoka liked, for a change. Rather than return to the park, they'd ended up wandering around stores, again, and Hisoka had found a nice used book store with a few good novels.

By the time Tsuzuki had begun to walk Hisoka home, it was later into the afternoon and both were feeling pleasantly, mildly weary from their trek around the city. Hisoka opened the door to his house a little happily, looking forward to relaxing to read a few of the new novels he'd bought.

"Here we are," Tsuzuki said brightly.

Though he wasn't pouting, or shooting Hisoka sad eyes, the boy felt inexplicably odd at just leaving and closing the door on his partner. Which was ridiculous.

"Do you want to come in?"

"Wha- Oh, can I, Hisoka?" Tsuzuki had that stupid happy look on his face again, making Hisoka frown.

"It was just an offer," he said. "You don't have to get so worked up."

The afternoon into early evening was spent talking, or sometimes not talking and just laughing, or with Tsuzuki recounting the latest inane thing that had happened around the office which Hisoka hadn't cared enough to learn about. The evening ended with dinner.

"I'll make it, Hisoka!"

"No. You don't get to cook."

But when Tsuzuki left later on that evening saying he'd see Hisoka the next day, Hisoka couldn't find it in himself to protest. He rationalized if he did, Tsuzuki would pout, cry, and he'd get a headache and have to give up anyway. So he was just cutting out the middleman, really.

Or so he told himself when he curled up on his bed next to a stuffed animal, in a bedroom that smelled still of Forget Me Nots.

* * *

Author's Notes; This chapter came out late 'cause today was a little hectic, but I'll have the next one up at a normal time. Sorry! This was fun to write, though, and showing off my limited knowledge of tarot cards. Yay! I was gonna go with The Lover's card, but I wanted to have a little bit of tact. Just a little. Next chapter's really fluffy, I promise! Please read and review!

Laustic- Thank you! –blushes-

Alice- Hm? No butter stick, huh? Oh, all right. –grin- Just kidding, I wouldn't do that. It maybe slipped in later for laughs, though, so be warned. I'm not sure if Hisoka's in denial, if he's just dense, or a little bit of both. Silly Hisoka, Tsuzuki loves you!

Rin- Yay, no ungodly hours to be awake at! Blame everybody…who's not me. I'm sorry! Wait, for what? What are we talking about? I'm hyper right now, can you tell? Hisoka's denial is adorable, just because you'd think an empath would realize it was love. Nope, I guess not.

Jenanien- Your welcome! I try not to make it too fluffy, but Tsuzuki's an idiot, so a little well placed fluff is okay. I have never been a huge Valentine's Day fans, but I couldn't ignore this. I mean, c'mon. The shipping possibilities. Will Hisoka get the message? Will he not and Tsuzuki give up? Will I be completely evil and just have Tsuzuki get bored? Hm…. I wonder. SUSPENSE!

Humbly yours,  
--Phoenix


	4. An Afternoon Alone

Title; With You

Rating; T (...still)

Disclaimer; Me no own-ee. Not even Alice in Wonderland.

Author's Note; Another day, another chapter. Literally! So how are you guys doing? Three days down to Valentine's Day! Usually I don't like this holiday very much, but this has been fun to write, so I'm in a really good mood. Watari and Tatsumi will show up in the next chapter, so until then they're still…playing board games. Go with that. More Tsusoka fluff for the wonderful people who read/reviewed/alerted/favorited. I don't know you personally, but I love you guys.

* * *

It occurred to Hisoka that something…something was odd. Spending time with Tsuzuki, or rather Tsuzuki insisting they spend time together and not taking "no" for an answer was not uncommon in and of itself. However, the gifts were a little odd, and Hisoka couldn't for the (figurative) life of him couldn't understand why Tsuzuki was acting as strangely as he was.

Hisoka sighed. Bad enough these thoughts confused him, but even the weather seemed determined to work against him. Over the evening a chill had swept in, leaving light amounts of snow and ice outside, and a generally miserable air. For Hisoka, at least. He really hated the cold.

Hisoka glanced out the window of his home to the early afternoon sunlight; it was still deceiving, though, because it was freezing out there, and he had no urge to leave his house if it was at all possible. And considering the fact that he was more than prepared to keep himself locked up with the central heat, it was quite possible.

The boy, at the moment, sat curled up on an armchair in his living room, afghan laying over his legs, and a book in his hand. He'd been alternately reading and sneaking glances at the clock. For what he wouldn't admit to himself, but despite this, and telling himself to stop being stupid and relax with his novel, he found his eyes slinking back towards the numbered face and the too slowly moving hands.

Tsuzuki hadn't shown up yet, and that was fine. Of course it was, because knowing Tsuzuki the idiot would show up eventually and Hisoka didn't care when he did.

He glanced at the clock again. Two fifty three.

With a soft grumble Hisoka glared back down at the book in his hands, his eyes trailing over a line it seemed he'd read at least twice. He had taken in none of it, however, and he was not quite sure where exactly he had left off for the last few pages, and realized he would have to flip back and reread those.

Rather than do so he merely closed the book without marking his page and put it on the coffee table. It wasn't that the book had uninteresting, but for some reason his attention wandered, and he had never been one who had to worry about concentration. This bothered Hisoka, because he couldn't understand it, and with another soft grumble he pushed back the afghan and padded into socked feet into his kitchen.

The room was as always sterilely clean, with the sort of unlived in look which seemed to be in every room except for the bedroom. Reaching into the cupboard for a clean glass, he filled it with water from the tap and took a long drink. He couldn't see the kitchen clock from where he stood facing the sink and he didn't allow himself to turn around to check the face yet again. It would only have changed by a few moments. However after finishing the glass, cleaning it, drying it, and putting it away, he had no reason not to look at the clock.

Three-o-two.

Hisoka sighed, and glanced around for something else to busy his hands with, something else to keep him occupied, because he could feel a tightening knot in his chest of uncomfortable anxiety. He didn't know why it felt like this, and this annoyed him even more.

Closing his eyes, Hisoka took a breath and released it before glancing around him and leaving the kitchen; there wasn't anything to do in there. He took his seat back in the armchair and pulled the afghan over him once more. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm down his heightened nerves. It was a little odd to sleep without the smell of Forget Me Nots, but he managed all right.

------

Tsuzuki nodded brightly, hiding his mild annoyance. "Of course, I'll have the check for you by the end of this week."

The older woman smiled in a gentle sort of way, despite the fact that she was extorting money from him which he _didn't have._ "Thanks you, Tsuzuki-san. You're such a good tenant, but we couldn't let you skip last month's rent." She looked up at the taller man with the same easy smile. "After all, you're almost two weeks late."

"I know, but I am running late," Tsuzuki began, and then trailed off hoping she might get the idea which he was hoping to express. He was busy. He didn't have time for a chat just now.

"Oh, well sorry to keep you," his landlord said, and added, "But be sure you pay last month's rent by the end of the week."

Tsuzuki nodded smiled, took the steps two at a time and emerged into the brisk February day. At almost four o'clock the sun was just beginning to wane into the evening, and cold wind whipped along the streets. Even if the sunset would be beautiful it was a bad hour to be out wandering.

This didn't seem to deter him in any case as he made his way down the street towards his partner's house. It wasn't a far walk, perhaps ten minutes, but Tsuzuki could use those few minutes to brainstorm. His landlord's appearance and warranted demands weren't unexpected, but it did throw a bit of a wrench into the works.

Money would be shorter now, since Tatsumi was unlikely to give him any more money due to his destruction, and he still wanted to do nice things for Hisoka. But what could he do when he was short on money? He'd been planning on offering to take the boy out to dinner, but they'd already eaten out the past few days, so maybe he should do something else. Something more creative…something…

But what the devil was he supposed to do? He didn't want to take Hisoka out again; the boy hated the cold and it was starting to get dark besides. Tsuzuki put his hands in the pockets of his coat and scuffed the cement under his shoes as he walked. Despite this sulking stature, no great ideas occurred to him, as they might to the protagonist of any good movie or novel. No sudden burst of understanding.

And if he had been the protagonist and things were going his way, would he not be in this position to begin with? Wouldn't Hisoka have realized things after the Kyoto incident? Life didn't work like that.

Tsuzuki's next idea was merely improvising, which he wasn't especially good at, but when the occasion called for it…. And what other option did he have, realistically?

A good five and a half minutes later, though, Tsuzuki wondered if would even have the chance to improvise when he knocked again on Hisoka's door and was given no answer. Was he really that late? He hadn't thought so. Was Hisoka mad? He hated it when Hisoka was mad.

And he usually made Hisoka mad, unintentionally, of course. But that meant Hisoka would yell at him, call him an idiot, hit him, and generally not want Tsuzuki around him. Then things got conflicting because Tsuzuki _wanted_ to be around Hisoka as much as possible.

However when he'd knocked for the fifth time, rather than worry about Hisoka being angry, he began to worry if the boy might've hurt himself. If Hisoka was mad he would've opened up already and yelled at him to go away. Idiot.

"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki called, and knocked on the door a little harder. "Hisoka, you there?"

He was debating between calling the house or just picking the lock and going in when he heard quiet muttering and the quiet snick of the lock catching and the door opening. He was faced with a somewhat bleary eyed Hisoka, who for a moment merely _looked_ at him in that way that seemed to scream "You're a moron" before pointing over to a small plastic square next to the door, at about shoulder level. "That," he said, "is a doorbell. It is louder than knocking, and that is why it is preferable you use it. Idiot."

Tsuzuki grinned guiltily and chuckled. "Oh. I, um, well, you didn't answer the door."

"I was sleeping." Hisoka turned away from the door and walked back into the living room, indulging in a yawn and a full stretch. He ran his fingers through his mussed dirty blonde hair, and took a seat in the armchair once more.

Well. That explained far more than it didn't. Hisoka was generally miserable for the first fifteen minutes after waking up, after which he became himself. According to Watari, there wasn't much of a difference, which had made Tsuzuki rebuke the scientist somewhat. "Oh." He followed after the teen, taking off his shoes and coat and taking seat on the small couch across from Hisoka. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Yes, you did," Hisoka replied, and when Tsuzuki opened his mouth to protest, he continued. "I'm assuming the entire reason of coming here wasn't to watch me sleep. So, I was going to wake up anyway." He watched as Tsuzuki reached forward to pick up the novel he'd been reading off the coffee table.

Tsuzuki looked at the front cover, where the title was embossed in faded black lettering. _Alice in Wonderland._ "I wouldn't care if you're sleeping—"

Hisoka rolled his eyes at this.

"—it doesn't bother me." He indicated the book he held. "What's this?"

"Western literature," Hisoka replied, eyeing it while Tsuzuki began to look inside. "It's a reflection of the British monarchy, and it's all symbolic. I haven't gotten very far into it, because I've been so tired."

Tsuzuki hid a smile to himself when Hisoka placed his head on his hands, looking very feline-esque in that single moment. He must've been tired to act like this, usually he just became paler than usual with a shorter temper when he was tired. "Where are you in the book?"

"Mm…" Hisoka hesitated, thinking. "Page thirty eight, I think. When she's talking to the Cheshire Cat." He yawned again, raising a hand to cover his mouth.

"Have you been sleeping enough, Hisoka?" Tsuzuki asked, looking over at his partner. "Last night? Or the night be—"

Hisoka cut over him with a mildly annoyed look on his face. "I'm fine. Stop nagging." Dark green eyes formed an impressive glare which seemed to have no effect on his partner.

"I'm not nagging!" Tsuzuki protested. "I'm worried about you. You're my partner!"

"No, really?" The words were practically dripping sarcasm, and Hisoka had a somewhat cavalier expression on his face. At least until Tsuzuki reached over to him, taking his wrist, and pulling the boy next to him on the couch. Then, Tsuzuki was sure, if looks could kill he'd be dead ten times over. "What the hell are you doing, Tsuzuki?"

"You lay down here," Tsuzuki said, indicating Hisoka should lay down next to him, so that he could stretch out somewhat more than if he had remained in the armchair.

"No. You. Go away." Hisoka's words were their common insults which once more had no effect on his partner. Or at least not the desired effect of the man not pulling the afghan over him and opening up the book which he was still holding. "What are you doing?" he repeated.

Tsuzuki tucked the afghan around the boy, before flipping through the book. "Looking for page thirty eight." When the boy opened his mouth to protest, Tsuzuki cut over him before he could be yelled at again. "This way you can get some sleep. So, don't worry, Hisoka. Okay?"

Hisoka glared at him, though it was somewhat lessened by the fact that his cheeks now had a light pink tint to them which couldn't exactly be blamed on the cold.

"You said you were at the part where she's speaking to the cat?" Tsuzuki said, wisely not commenting on his partner's blush. He opened to the page and paused a minute before beginning. "'"Cheshire Puss," she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however it only grinned a little wider. "Come, it's pleased so far," thought Alice, and she went on. "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

'"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

'"I don't much care where—" said Alice.

'"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

'"—so long as I get _somewhere_," Alice added as an explanation.

'"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."'

Tsuzuki paused at the bottom of the page and cast his glance down at the boy who had curled up on the settee, his blonde hair hiding his eyes and his face somewhat red. The image was one which brought a small, genuine smile to his face.

"Why are you bothering?" Hisoka muttered.

"Because you said you were tired, didn't you?" Tsuzuki asked rhetorically. "Haven't you ever had anybody read to you?"

Hisoka grimaced a little at that. "Not since I was very young," he replied. "Before I can remember clearly."

"My sister used to do it all the time," Tsuzuki said, and added, "So it's not something that has to be awkward. You can just sleep." He opened the book again, watching as Hisoka finally acquiesced and closed his eyes, though not without a few mutterings of "Crazy" and "Idiot" which Tsuzuki took with a grain of salt.

He began reading again as Hisoka closed his eyes.

------

Tsuzuki hadn't reached page fifty before he realized Hisoka's breathing was shallow and steady, his eyes closed in sleep. Moving carefully, so as not to disturb the boy, he placed the book on the table and stood. He glanced at the couch on which he rested and frowned, then leaned down to pick the boy up, arms at the small of his back and the crook of his knees.

Hisoka, he remembered, was somewhat of a heavy sleeper. He smiled at that thought, and headed back to the bedroom, where he placed the boy on the bed and drew the covers up around him. His eyes caught on the flower and the bear and his smile widened somewhat.

"Good night, Hisoka," Tsuzuki said, softly, and left, turning off the lights as he left the house and locked the door behind him. Things were going well, he thought, and he couldn't keep the smile off his face as he walked home.

* * *

Author's Note; Okie, waaaaaay too much fluff in that chapter. But it was fun to write. On an unrelated note, that is probably one of my favorite parts in _Alice and Wonderland_ for some unapparent reason. Maybe 'cause I love the Cheshire Cat? In any case, I love that book, too. And the image of Tsuzuki reading to a Hisoka curled up next to him was way too cute to pass up. Until the next installment, I hope yo guys read and review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Aindel S Druida- Thanks for the comments about the homonyms; I'll keep an eye on that. And I'm glad you like my work. I'm curious as to what you read and what you thought of it, if you remember.

Rin- That's good. Work on reading fanfiction when other people are awake, right? Ooh, I'll pass on the volley ball. Me not athletic. At all. I'm glad you like it; if you like fluff you'll love the last chapter. I already have it entirely planned out.

Laustic- That's what I thought. I think the two of cups ifs better for them anyway, because they're partners and equals as much as they're lovers.

Alice- You notice that, Hisoka doesn't. He doesn't realize Tsuzuki's trying to think of him more. I'm sorry, should I have skipped the tact? Yes, this chapter was shameless fluffy, too. I think I might go hug a puppy or something….

Nicole- We already had this conversation; I didn't intend it! Gomen nasai! Glad it was fun to read, though.

Humbly yours,  
--Phoenix


	5. An Image, A Memory

Title; With You

Rating; T

Disclaimer; Still me no own-ee.

Author's Notes; Thank you so much for the reviews, they really make my day. This week has just been…. Agh! I hate standardized testing. But I have a date for Valentine's Day! Yay! But that's making me pay less attention to standardized testing and more on daydreaming. Bad, me. Anyway, this chapter was written in a hurry because I had a doctor's appointment which couldn't be avoided. So yeah, stream of consciousness writing. For those of you who read Pearls Before Swine, I hope it doesn't turn into a babbling brook. "Cheese sticks, cheese sticks, cheese sticks!" Everyone who doesn't get that is staring at this screen thinking "She's finally lost her mind."

* * *

At the sound of a knock on his door, Watari looked up from the computer where he'd been diligently typing away at something which likely had nothing to do with the projects he was supposed to be working on for the bureau. Switching off the monitor, he stood, brushed off his lab coat and moved to the door.

"Hm, what do you think, 003?" he asked the bird resting affably on his shoulder. Two peeps were his answer, and the click of her beak. "Tsuzuki? It might be Tatsumi." Another peep.

The scientist opened the door to see a tall, older man, in a badly wrinkled suit with a bright smile. "Watari," Tsuzuki said with relief and a big smile. "I need your help."

Watari glanced down at the owl on his shoulder who, had it been possible for birds would be wearing an expression which positively screamed 'I told you so'. Even being a bird she was pulling it off rather well. "Oh, all right. Off with you, now. Go keep 001 and 002 company." He pointed in the direction of the toucan and emperor penguin who were poking dully at the file cabinets around the office.

With a cheery smile Watari held the door open for his friend, closed it behind him, and took a seat on one of the lab stools. "Okay, Tsuzuki, what do you need?"

Tsuzuki grabbed a seat across from him and ran his fingers through his already messy dark hair in an absent manner. "I'm trying to get something together for Hisoka—"

"Oh," Watari said, unintentionally cutting his friend off in his quest for knowledge. "Speaking of bon, how's he doing? How did the weekend go?"

"It went fine," Tsuzuki said, knowing that Watari would only help him after he got the information he sought. "We spent Saturday together, the whole day and Sunday evening."

Watari raised his eyebrows in a silent, amused expression.

"Not like that," Tsuzuki hastened to explain when Watari raised one blonde eyebrow in suspicion.

"I didn't suggest anything of the sort, Tsuzuki," Watari remarked. "Wasn't there something about protesting too much?"

Tsuzuki sent his friend a dark look, telling him that while they were friends, he would also have no problems with telling Tatsumi that it had been Watari's fault the paper shredder had gone into overdrive last month, not only shredding files but Terazuma's packet of cigarettes (left on the desk), Tsuzuki's tie (he leaned too close), and the budget reports Tatsumi had been working on the entire week before the incident. To Watari's credit he did help in rewriting them and he would've helped with stopping the terror except Terazuma lost his temper and destroyed it.

Watari chuckled, looking pleasantly amused with the entire situation. "Sorry. I just had to do it. I know; you're not going to tell me what happened. In any case, why do you need my help?"

Tsuzuki stopped glaring long enough to explain. "Well, I was in Hisoka's room—not like that so stop smirking!—and I noticed it was pretty empty." He smiled to himself, remembering that he had seen the bear and flowers in there at least. "I was wondering if you had any old pictures. I thought you might; I already asked Wakaba and she gave me a few before Terazuma showed up and started acting like an as-- …well, you get the idea. And I don't think Tatsumi or Konoe would have any."

"You're right," Watari agreed. "They wouldn't, really. Now's the wrong time of year, but usually, strange enough, Yuma and Saya have a bunch of photos. They're stuck up north for the winter, though, since Shinigami can't fly in the snow." He stood from his stool, frowned and disappeared into a closet of the laboratory. There were muffled shuffling sounds and a few muffled thumps, which he suspected kept Tsuzuki from following him in here. "I think I have some…."

"Do you?" Tsuzuki said, sounding at once happy and relieved. "I wasn't sure if you would, Watari, and I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to make due. Wakaba didn't have too many; the rest she started scrap booking. I guess it's a girl thing." He shrugged, not understanding the specific joy of doing so, but enjoying the final results none the less.

"Ah-ha!" This was swiftly followed by a few more dull thumps and a resounding bang. A soft curse was uttered and Watari muttered, "I'll clean that up later." The blonde scientist reappeared, looking more or less uninjured and holding a large shoebox, worn and tattered with age. He dropped it on the table in front of Tsuzuki and took his seat with a flourish once more. "Help yourself."

Tsuzuki grinned happily and took the lid off the box before looking through it happily. "Ah, thanks, Watari. Remind me, I owe you later." He pointedly ignored the muttered chuckles and questions of how many IOU's were they up to now?

The box was filled somewhere past halfway with miscellaneous pictures and the odd trinket here and there. The meanings for the small objects eluded Tsuzuki, though they must have had some meaning for Watari for the man to have kept them. From dozens of glossy three by fives he could see pictures of himself and his co-workers, some badly taken, most without the subject looking at the camera itself.

"Most of those were taken by Yuma, Saya, and Wakaba," Watari remarked. "So you'll have to excuse the less than perfect shots. There should be more than enough nice ones there, though, for you to make due with. If you really want more I might be able to find something…." He trailed off, apparently his mind already on where else he might have photos, if, in fact, he did have any more.

Tsuzuki shook his head, looking over the pictures with interest. "No, these will be more than enough, Watari; thanks." He pulled out a picture at random to study it, and found another one paper clipped to it. The first was a picture of himself and Watari, he with a mischievous smile on his face, and the scientist with his head tilted as if he had just imparted a secret. The angle on the shot put their hair in their eyes, but the picture itself was fairly good. The one attached to it was one of Tatsumi and Hisoka, the latter looking at the camera with a somewhat flat expression, if with large eyes, and the former had his hand in front of his face, fixing his glasses. It seemed bad timing on the picture taker's part.

"Those are nice, but Tatsumi's pretty…well, not photogenic," Watari said. "I think there's one in here…" he murmured, then pushed his hand through the pictures. Though they seemed in no specific order to Tsuzuki, they must've made sense to the scientist because he quickly found the one he had been searching for. "This one." He held it out to Tsuzuki with a small smile.

Tatsumi sat at his desk, papers messy and jumbled behind him. He had taken his glasses off, and his expression was peaceful while his eyes were trained to the clip board he held in his hand. His suit jacket was missing and his tie was loosened, the first button undone. The picture was obviously taken without his notice or else the his expression might not have been so carelessly captivating. It seemed Tatsumi was only photogenic when he didn't know the camera was pointed at him.

Tsuzuki handed the picture back and picked up another. One of himself, sitting on at his desk, book open, sleeves rolled up and a passive look of concentration on his face. His feet were propped up on the desk before him, one arm resting behind his head, and his eyes were in a lazy half opened look of one who is merely paying attention out of necessity. "Are all these basically taken of us whenever they snuck around with a camera?" he asked, looking at Watari with a mildly confused expression.

"You're noticing," Watari commented and grinned. "Pretty much all of them. Yuma and Saya asked Wakaba to get pictures of us when he had to dress up to go down to Earth so there're plenty of those sorts of pictures there if you look."

Settling down the job of finding a good handful of pictures, Tsuzuki began shifting through countless photographs of them, smiling occasionally when he ran across a picture of himself and his friends, himself and Hisoka, and sometimes, even Hisoka alone.

------

Hisoka had woken up that morning very confused, to say the least. He had remembered being on his sofa with Tsuzuki, had remembered the warmth of the afghan over him and Tsuzuki next to him, had remembered the low timbre of Tsuzuki's words, and the comfort he'd felt, and then…. Hisoka shook his head a little, as he really shouldn't have been feeling so comfortable in a situation which should have been so awkward.

It should have been weird to fall asleep next to his older partner while the man read to him, and it should have been awkward to wake up to be in his bed, and realize, a few minutes later, that Tsuzuki must've carried him in there, and set him down to sleep. The boy had awoken in his clothes from the day before (which was thankful; he honestly didn't feel like murdering Tsuzuki. It was a Monday, and Mondays were bad enough to begin with without premeditated homicide).

In any case, all of these things should have been awkward, and so Hisoka told himself they were rather than deal with anything more complex. Complex scared him, and as he wasn't sure what those feelings were he'd woken up with this morning, he'd classified them as awkward embarrassment. Hisoka almost smiled to himself as he sat at his desk. It was ironic, an empathy not recognizing or understanding his own feelings. In fact it was laughable, if Hisoka had been the typed who laughed more.

Of course this meant that Tsuzuki had seen the bear and the flowers, and Hisoka was beginning to regret that he had taken either into his room in the first place. And if Tsuzuki so much as said one word to him when he came into the office, the boy was ready. He'd had no where else to put them. What had Tsuzuki been doing in his room, anyway? He refused to admit, even to himself, that he might be avoiding the issue entirely.

"Good morning, Hisoka," Tsuzuki greeted as he entered, moving towards Hisoka's desk with an easy grin on his face and a large, white envelope stuffed with…something in his right hand.

Hisoka jumped slightly, because always seemed to infiltrate every part of the room with his cheerfulness, as he always did. It wasn't unpleasant, just unexpected, and it took the boy a moment to adjust before he replied, "Morning." Talking and being friendly were preferably for after noon.

Tsuzuki pulled his chair over to Hisoka's desk, sat down, and held out the envelope. The face of his watch gleamed in the reflection of the cheap, bright lights of the office. "Here, these are for you," he said, happily.

"_What_ are for me?" Hisoka asked, but took the envelope (with only mild hesitancy) none the less.

"Open up and find out." Tsuzuki's grin became just a little more amused.

Hisoka cast him a glare warning him if this was stupid or ridiculous, but opened it instead to find pictures of himself and his co-workers in various menial, day-to-day actions. Frozen, though, for that one moment, that one breath, it seemed far more important, and Hisoka flipped through them quickly, scanning them with a reverent expression on his face. "Where did you get these?" he asked, (at the time it seemed the only question to ask).

"Watari," Tsuzuki answered simply. "And one or two are from Wakaba. I thought you might like to have them for your house." The look in the boy's eyes as he flipped through the pictures once more spoke more than words could. Though to most his expression would've seemed as blank as ever, Tsuzuki could read the interest and care for the photos in his large green eyes.

Watari smirked when he passed by them later on that day, Wakaba smiled and side tracked Tsuzuki briefly with an apple pie, but Hisoka did not take mind of either of them (at least until Terazuma started to pick a fight; then he intervened) instead finishing his work for the day. However, Tsuzuki would watch out of the corner of his eyes when Hisoka would pick up one of the photos and study it, as if taking in every minute detail of a moment which seemed trivial even to him, but must've meant much more to the boy.

* * *

Author's Notes; Most of the ideas for the photos were taken from the books. See if you can spot them! This chapter was fun to write because I think there's really a deep feeling in a photo; they can be pretty meaningful. They're memories on paper, and they're really capturing the emotions of a single moment in your life. Ah, do I sound weird? I hope not. And I hope you enjoyed. Only two more chapters to go. I'm happy and I'm sad. Please read and review, so that I might have my ego stroked.

Kirihana- I'm glad you loved it. Yes, m'am, more fluff to come. –points above- That wasn't as much fluff, but I thought Tsuzuki being more poignantly thoughtful might be nice, too. Next chapters are just like cotton candy and puppies and stuff.

Alice- Tact and fluff! And Tatari! (I sprinkled it in there.) Yes, I love Alice in Wonderland, it's really a good book. It's a good coincidence that you loved it, too. Hisoka wasn't worried…-shifty eyes- He was just anxious and Tsuzuki just so happened not to be there at the time. Yep. Go with that.

Angel- Will do.

Rin- I can only imagine. You wake up at five? Everyday? Ack! I hate mornings. Yesh, Hisoka was surprised, poor little boy. And a bit embarrassed, too!

Laustic- Well, Tsuzuki's a dog, so I had to do it. And fluff is love!

Humbly yours,  
--Phoenix


	6. An Invitation

Title; With You

Rating; T

Disclaimer; It would be inspiring if a sixteen year old owned the rights to Yami no Matsuei, but I don't.

Author's Notes; Sixth chapter. Only one more to go! Ah, to the people who have been reviewing… I don't know what to say. Thank you falls short, because you don't know how much those little comments brighten up my day. …A lot, needless to say. I'm hoping to be able to write more after Valentine's Day passes, and plot bunnies already abound. (Insert maniacal laughter here). Ehm, yeah, so, without further ado, chapter six….

* * *

Tuesday. February 13th. The day before Valentine's.

However you phrased it the obvious conclusion was inevitable; Valentine's Day was coming and Hisoka had the strong urge to go and barricade himself in the house for the entirety of the next day. He didn't like Valentine's Day anymore than he liked White Day, and as far as he was concerned, he would have nothing to do with either.

Where he was concerned didn't matter, though, as Tsuzuki was his partner. And Tsuzuki liked Valentine's Day. He liked chocolates, exchanging cards, the stupid gifts, and the ridiculous idea of spending the holiday with "someone special". Guess who the special someone was?

"C'mon, Hisoka." Tsuzuki said, not whining, but certainly very close to wheedling his partner for the thing he wanted at the moment, i.e. Hisoka's attention and/or company. "Don't you want to spend the day with me?"

Hisoka looked up from his computer at his partner with a flat look. "You. Work now." While it wasn't quite answering the question, it certainly seemed to suggest that Tsuzuki drop the subject.

Tsuzuki, of course, missed the suggestion. "If I do my work will you come over for dinner tomorrow?" he asked. Apparently, even if it meant actually doing the dreaded paperwork, Tsuzuki was willing to take the risk if Hisoka would see him.

"No." Hisoka stood, collecting the files he'd been typing up and starting to head towards the door of the office. It seemed any lingering feelings over the gifts or time spent together would not last in the face of this argument.

With a crest-fallen look on his face (which Hisoka was particularly avoiding looking at,) Tsuzuki mumbled in an adorably pathetic way, "But why, Hisoka?"

Finally Hisoka sighed and turned to give his partner a stern glare. "Because your food is a threat to my health…and I'm already dead." This said, he headed out of the office and closed the door behind him.

To his credit, Tsuzuki was only pouting a little. The larger part of his mind was beginning his next tactic. So looking cute and begging didn't work; it rarely did. Time for stage two.

------

"Tatsumi-san?" Hisoka knocked on the door to the office in a light tap and waited for the response (which was almost immediate).

"Kurosaki-kun?" Tatsumi said, then added, "Come in." When Hisoka opened the door the man sat back from a group of invoices from the Accounting Department. It was probably fortunate that the boy has shown up now, as he had been sorely tempted to respond back with a few choice phrases about their irritating over invasiveness. "How may I help you?"

Hisoka walked over to the desk and placed the files on the corner of the man's desk. "Here, we managed to finish up a few more."

"By 'we' you mean 'you'?" Tatsumi remarked with a smile, picking them up and looking through them. "Thank you, Kurosaki-kun for being one of the few who realizes that the point of coming here is not to cause mass destruction." He offered the boy a rare, small, and genuine smile.

"Are you referring to Tsuzuki, Watari, or Terazuma?" Hisoka asked bluntly.

Tatsumi sighed a little and reached up to his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "Probably all of them," he admitted. "In any case, I must return to work…." He trailed off.

Taking the hint Hisoka headed back towards the door. "Sure, Tatsumi-san," he remarked and headed towards the door.

With a small, non commental noise, Tatsumi added, in an absent way, "And if I don't see you, enjoy the holiday tomorrow."

Hisoka cast his boss a look which went unnoticed as the older man's head was bowed. For the first few years of his employment, Tatsumi ignored any and all holidays. Christmas was only occasionally acknowledged, maybe New Years, but never Valentine's Day. Hisoka was now on his own in his avoidance of all things having to do with February 14th (as even Terazuma couldn't avoid it, especially not with Wakaba as his partner). Hisoka headed out into the hall with a small grimace.

It seemed this year he was on his own.

------

Not wanting to immediately go back into his office with Tsuzuki (the highlight of which would've been his partner pestering him about coming over, something he was avoiding,) Hisoka decided to head into the break room. There was usually something hot to drink, either tea of coffee, quiet, and perhaps something left over from breakfast which wasn't made purely of sugar.

He turned the corner towards the room, watching as a small, brown owl who had been resting nearby took off almost faster than the eye could follow. Hisoka merely stared for a moment before he sighed and continued towards the break room, wondering if he was going to regret going later.

Watari sat at the table, a chipped blue mug at his right hand as he flipped through a small spiral notebook. He glanced up when Hisoka entered, offered a quick smile and a "Hey, bon. How's it going?" before he lowered his eyes to the pages once more.

Hisoka eyed the coffee machine warily, and asked, "Watari, did you put anything in there?"

"Bon!" Watari said, looking a little hurt. "I'm insulted you would suggest that I—" He was cut off by a subtle clearing of the boy's throat and large omniscient green eyes. "Yeah, go for the tea."

With the merest shadow of a smile Hisoka poured himself some of the cheap bancha (Tatsumi was a cheapskate and that was all they had), and took a sip. He grimaced, it was pretty bad, probably the least expensive brand Tatsumi could find.

"Are you and Tsuzuki doing something tomorrow?" Watari asked, finally closing the notebook, leaning back in the chair, and looking over at Hisoka who stood by the counter where the sink and cupboard were. When he received no answer, merely a glare which gave way nothing, he grinned. "Okay, I get it. But take my advice, bon. Much of an idiot as Tsuzuki is, he's an idiot who's trying. You have an advantage; he doesn't know what you're thinking."

For a moment Hisoka blanched, his hands still clasped around the cup of tea. "Why would he want to know what I'm thinking?"

Watari laughed, shaking his head. "Never mind. Just don't shut him out. He's just trying to get closer to you." He stood, stretched in a long, graceful manner. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to head back to the lab. If Tatsumi catches me in here after anybody drank the coffee I'm dead." He headed for the door, then glanced back. "Oh, and don't tell Tsuzuki. He's usually the only one who actually touches the coffee without checking to make sure it doesn't burn a hole through anything first. Bye!" He twitched the fingers of his hand over his shoulder, and trailing bright gold hair, swinging white lab coat, and a positively mad air, Watari was gone.

It was decided; everybody he worked with was nuts. Hisoka dumped the rest of the awful tea down the drain, washed his cup, and set it to the side to dry. And Watari was the craziest of all. Didn't make any sense to Hisoka.

Nope.

Because everything Watari said was ridiculous…wasn't it?

------

Before Tsuzuki could speak, the moment he entered the office (though Tsuzuki already had his mouth open, in all fairness,) Hisoka replied with a muttered, "All right. Look, just tomorrow night, right?"

It took a moment to sink it, but once it had the response was immediate. "Oh, Hisoka! I knew you'd agree." He was grinning and half hugging his partner, who was warning him to get off or he'd be spending Valentine's Day alone and in the hospital.

Hisoka (once released) took a seat at his desk, giving Tsuzuki an impressive glare which was ignored. "J-just finish your work. I'm not doing it for you." He picked his book and began to read, hiding a somewhat rather face (whether from a blush or from yelling at his partner it couldn't be certain).

"Okay," Tsuzuki said, smiling brightly. "You can come over tomorrow after work. Is seven okay?" He, to his credit, had his folder open though would probably manage to get no more than a few lines written throughout the entire day unless Hisoka "oversaw" him, or rather yelled at him about what, very specifically, he should be doing.

"Seven's fine," the boy muttered, and dropped his eyes to the page before him, attempting to read about beheading a bodiless Cheshire Cat rather than focusing on his partner's beaming face. It was impossible to ignore entirely as he saturated every part of the room with his happy aura and overeager thoughts. "Tsuzuki, shielding," he finally snapped when he could take no more of it.

Tsuzuki grinned guiltily. "Um, sorry, Hisoka. Oh, here!" As though just remembering something he through the file on the desk and opened up his drawer. Pushing aside crumpled up papers, a tied off stack of fudas, and an empty bag from a bakery, the older Shinigami produced what looked like a medium sized, crayon red, paper heart.

For a moment, Hisoka could do no more than look with rather ill-disguised disgust at the valentine, which somehow Tsuzuki seemed to miss. Hisoka wondered, sarcastically, what color the sky was in Tsuzuki's world. "Um…."

"It's for you."

Obviously. One side had Hisoka's name written in Tsuzuki's badly formed kanji, and on the other side was a brief note. After it became apparent Tsuzuki was waiting for him to take it, he reached out and did so, turning it over to read the back note. Thankfully, it was nothing over the top, just wishing Hisoka a happy Valentine's Day, and saying they should meet for dinner on that night.

The black haired man picked up the file once more, though Hisoka noticed his pen was not moving. "I was going to wait and give it to you tomorrow, but I decided to just give it to you today. You like it, right?"

There had been times when Hisoka had been told to lie to save people's feelings. He had never done so because he'd never cared enough to do so. Right now, his cheeks were pink, most likely from embarrassment, though let Tsuzuki think it was blushing. "It's uh…festive," he managed.

It apparently pleased Tsuzuki well enough because he grinned; ranted about it a little bit before Hisoka could find a moment where he could cut in and yell at the man to do his work without the other pouting. Much.

That night, Hisoka looked at the valentine, grimaced, but none the less stowed it away in the top drawer of his dresser. He really hadn't had a place for such frivolities, and had therefore been forced to improvise. Sometimes he didn't understand Tsuzuki, and at the moment, this was one of those times. He was able to write it off, though, as the fact that it was simply Tsuzuki and curl up in bed next to the stuffed animal.

Despite all his protests, he actually wasn't entirely dreading tomorrow. Even if it was Valentine's Day.

* * *

Author's Notes; Slightly sappy chapter. Watari tries to clue Hisoka in and we find out just how clueless the poor boy is. Oh, well. At least he tried. And I had to have Watari drugging the coffee pot at least once. I mean, I love it when Watari drugs the coffee pot. Next chapter I have all sorts of stuff planned out. Ah, it's gonna be so fun to write! But it's the last chapter. –starts crying- -collects self- Sorry about that. Anyway, as always, thank you for reading and please read and review. Thank you again to all of you who read, reviewed, or put me on your favorites or alert list. It means a lot.

Ahria- Yes, it's fun to write cute stuff every once in a while. I usually don't write it much, so it's nice to have an excuse. Did you know Tsuzuki's birthday is the twenty-fourth of this month? I wonder if we'll have any stories. You're welcome; it's a little bit of a rush, but I like how it works out for everyone if I update everyday. And you're right, photos have some deeper meaning. I love them.

Kirihara- Oh, I hope I didn't make you late! Yes, only…well, now only one more chapter. –sigh- You know what they say about all good things….

Alice- I'm the same way. I'm more like Tatsumi. The only way you're getting a good picture of me is if I'm not aware of it at the time. Otherwise I manage to mess up somehow. Yesh; usually I do the solo Valentine's Day thing, too, so I'm very excited this year. February 14th usually meant a good movie and vanilla fudge ice cream, lol. Yep. Tomorrow's the finale.

Laustic- I thought so, too. For Hisoka, I guess this would be his first time having a "real" family, so I though pictures, or rather, memories, would be one of the most important things Tsuzuki could give him.

Rin- I'm more of a middle of the night insomniac person. –grin- You're not a loser or sad since you know the pictures. You're just an extreme fan (I'm one, too. I know Watari's zodiac sign, for crying out loud). I love 001 and 002; for some reason I see them as rather simple, so hence they're usually just hanging around Watari. It's okay, that was a perfectly good review. Hope this chapter lived up to your expectations, too.

Saphira- I love that picture, too. I think it perfectly captured them. Tatari is my favorite pairing really. I love writing them. I'm glad you loved this.

Humbly yours,  
--Phoenix Wand


	7. A Dance

Title; With You

Rating; T

Disclaimer; If you've gone through six chapters without realizing that I own **_nothing_** I have to wonder…

Author's Notes; Last chapter! No! I feel both happy and sad writing this. Happy, 'cause I knew what I wanted this chapter to be like from the moment I started planning this, and sad because it's finally over. This has a lot of references to the second manga volume, so some things may be a little odd if you haven't read it. Oh, well. You'll be getting more from me, anyway. –maniacal laughter- This entire story was fan service and fluff, but it was fun to write, and I'm glad it managed to make a few people smile, and in some instances, laugh. Please enjoy the last chapter and I hope to hear from you guys in the future.

* * *

Pink.

Everything was…pink. Most of it was fluffy, too, and Hisoka could swear he'd seen some red and white mixed in. It was horrifying, utterly and completely, and there were only two people who could be responsible.

"I thought they couldn't fly in the snow," Hisoka hissed angrily, peering out from the doorway of his office, barely allowing himself to be seen.

Watari shrugged. "You'd think. Apparently they traveled down to Tokyo the mortal way and then got into Meifu from there."

And as such, Yuma and Saya were wreaking havoc, armed with Pinkhouse and far too many holiday decorations. After having lost Hisoka (the entire situation had consisted of "Hisoka! 'Soooka!", Hisoka cursing and running, and Hisoka barricading himself in his office,) they had decided the office was not festive enough and begun this farce.

A last, desperate hope had been born in the form of Tatsumi. Surely, as strict and fussy as the secretary was he would make the pair from Hokkaido reconsider this insanity. That hope, however, stood about as much chance as a Fabergé egg in the wake of one of Watari's experiments gone wrong. Tatsumi, upon entering the building, had merely blinked. After a moment, he seemed to find his voice. "Watari?"

The scientist had appeared from down the hall, nursing a cup of strong, black coffee between his long, graceful fingers. He winced at the extreme decorations, though he'd already seen them. Such an eyesore was scarring. "Yes, Tatsumi?"

"Was this you?"

"Er, no. I have more subtlety than this."

"Ah." Tatsumi blinked, for a moment staring at the bright pink crepe paper which lined the room. "Then do you know who it was?"

Watari took a sip of his drink, and then nodded. "Saya and Yuma have decided that they wanted to come into the office for such a momentous occasion. Momentous meaning a chance to harass any and all couples and torture bon a bit."

Tatsumi, to his credit, was taking all of this rather well. "Have they decorated my office?"

"Not to the best of my knowledge," the scientist said absently.

As though summoned by the names which had spoken only moments ago, the two girls appeared before the men, grinning widely. "Tatsumi!" Yuma cried happily. "What do you think of the office?"

This was followed by quiet murmurs from both girls of "Pet me, Tatsumi! Yay!" which Tatsumi passively obliged in. "That depends entirely, girls, on if it will all be gone tomorrow and if you have gotten into my office."

Saya, who like her partner was grinning widely as the secretary patted the top of their blonde heads replied with, "Um, yes, and no." A pout formed across her face when Tatsumi dropped his hands.

"Then please try not to distract all of those who should be working," Tatsumi said and headed off towards his office, leaving a mildly pouting Yuma and Saya and Watari attempting not to laugh. The scientist was fairly sure he'd see no hide or hair of his lover until the end of the day.

So, Hisoka had taken a leaf out of his superior's book and attempted to remain hidden in his office. This was difficult when Saya and Yuma finally forced the door open and attempted to jump on him. He'd been forced to run, very fast.

The worst part was, though, that even Yuma and Saya weren't the worst of the problems spurned by the dreaded holiday. The general air was one of gleeful, loving affection, and Wakaba, not thinking, had jumped up and wrapped her arms around her partner crying, "Happy Valentine's Day, Hajime-chan!"

"No, wait don't—!"

Tsuzuki and Watari had been laughing their respective heads off until Terazuma had transformed with a roar. Then Watari had still been laughing while Tsuzuki began to pull out a fuda. The main hall had been destroyed before noon had even passed, and most likely a larger part of the building would have gone, too, had not Tatsumi emerged from his office long enough to pull the pair apart and give pay cuts all around.

The entire day had culminated (save for a few more attempts by the Hokkaido pair to get Hisoka into a dress,) by Watari grabbing Tatsumi's tie in the break room and pulling him in for a searing kiss which left Yuma, Saya, and Wakaba gasping and squealing excitedly. The scientist let the secretary go, grinning at the brunet's mildly dazed expression, and said, "Okay, see you tonight."

Tatsumi, after taking half a second to collect himself, followed the other man, saying angrily, "Now, wait. Just hold _on_ a second, Watari. What the—"

Hisoka certain that all of the Summons Bureau had finally gone insane, and the day wasn't even over yet. He still had dinner to contend with.

------

After debating for many minutes, telling himself he was being stupid, he finally pulling on a dark blue turtle neck and a pair of faded blacks jeans. Hisoka scowled somewhat, wondering if he should have just gone in his work clothes (blue jeans, tee shirt, jean jacket, and sneakers) then deciding against it. After all, it wasn't like it mattered, right?

Thus, at two minutes after seven, bundled in his double-breasted coat, scarf, and Tsuzuki's gloves, he knocked on the door to his partner's house. It took only a moment before the man opened the door, smiling, the shirt sleeves of his white button up dress shirt rolled up to his elbows. "Oh, Hisoka. You're right on time; c'mon in. Dinner's on the table."

Hisoka hid a look of mild trepidation at the word "dinner" and hung up his coat on one of the hooks on the back of door, after kicking off his sneakers. He held out his gloves to Tsuzuki and said, "Here. You gave me these this weekend; you might want them back."

"Oh," Tsuzuki said, for a moment looking surprised. "You didn't have to hurry to give those back, though. That's why I gave them to you." He took them anyway, putting them on a table near the door and waving Hisoka after him. "Let's eat. You must be starving."

------

"You are _not_ cooking, Tsuzuki."

"Bu—" Tsuzuki began, looking hurt at this adamant statement.

"No," Watari said, holding up his hand in a final sort of way. "Look, as a friend, I'm telling you it's a bad idea. Ordinarily, I'd come over with Tatsumi to help you, but not today. Just order out, and it'll be fine."

Tsuzuki sighed. "Fine. Tatsumi's busy tonight?"

Watari grinned. "Yeah, sorry. But I don't think he'll have time to help you out tonight."

------

It was difficult not to look entirely shocked at the food. It had looked fine, but most of Tsuzuki's food _looked_ fine. It just tasted horrible. This, however, was good. Hisoka had been steeling himself, bracing himself for eating it, even if it was terrible he should eat it.

The food was good, though, and Hisoka, who truthfully had been starving, took a bit more at Tsuzuki's suggestion. In truth, the boy had eaten a light lunch and nothing between then and now, because even things which one didn't like tasted better on an empty stomach.

The meal ended with an apple pie for dessert, which the boy took a small piece of, but he left most for his partner. He didn't like sweets, especially. What little bit he had was rich and plenty filling, and as he watched Tsuzuki finish off a large slice, he realized for the first time the soft, slow and cheery music was playing from the living room. BY leaning only slightly to the side Hisoka was able to catch a glimpse of a very old record player, the needle running unsteadily over the black record.

Tsuzuki caught his partner looking at it and smiled. "I never felt the need to upgrade to anything else," he explained.

For the first time Hisoka realized it must have been more than a little difficult for Tsuzuki to adjust to almost a century's worth of changes. "It wasn't that," he said. "I was just listening to the music."

"Oh," Tsuzuki said, and helped himself to a forkful of the pie. "It's a waltz. Shubert, if I remember correctly." It was pure memorization and his sister's affinity for the music that had helped him to learn even that much.

Watching as Tsuzuki finished his pie and began clearing the dishes off of the table, Hisoka listened to the music before he spoke again. "Your sister liked waltzes, right? I remember you mentioned that on one of our first cases."

"Yeah," Tsuzuki said, over the sound of running water. "I learned it when I was a lot younger, but I never forgot." He reappeared a minute later, drying his hands with a dish towel. "I'll wash those later. Anyway." He smiled at his partner, for a moment leaning against the doorway and giving Hisoka a look that the boy did not entirely trust. "Would you like to learn how?"

"What?" Hisoka cried, shock reading clearly on his features. "No; are you insane?"

Tsuzuki laughed at Hisoka's protests and took the boy's hand, taking him out into the living room. He turned down the volume on the record player, then reached out, taking Hisoka's right hand in his left, and holding it away from them, his elbow bent at a gentle angle. His other arm dropped to Hisoka's waist, though due to height different it ended up near the bottom of the fair haired boy's ribs. "Put your hand on my upper arm."

"Tsuzuki," the boy hissed, his face now rivaling the shade of an apple. He wasn't given much choice, though, when Tsuzuki merely reached over and placed the boy's hand on his bicep. "Are you insane?" he asked again, his shock leaving him at a lack for anything else to say.

The music played softly as Tsuzuki began to carefully move his feet. "I'm not insane, Hisoka. It's just a dance." It took the man a moment to move in time with the tune, but once he did, he moved unhesitatingly. Despite not having danced in a long time, the moves were precise.

Hisoka found that at first their remained enough space between them that there was very little contact save for their hands and Tsuzuki's arm. However, as the song progressed, the posture became more lax, so that Hisoka began to hide his face be letting his forehead rest against Tsuzuki's upper chest.

"You just move your feet..."

Tsuzuki was speaking, though it sounded distant to Hisoka's ears, compared to the warmth of his partner's arm around him and the pleasant buzz of the other man's emotions. Happiness, comfort, warmth, and something…something Hisoka couldn't recognize.

…share_ the dance. I can't teach you…It's impossible. It means, dancing as though you're in… _Tsuzuki's words from what seemed ages and ages ago came back to him, and why couldn't he remember how the sentence had ended?

That emotion, that emotion Hisoka couldn't place. What was it? Maybe it was Tsuzuki's presence that was confusing him so.

_It means, dancing as though you're in…._

It was…it was….

_Dancing as though you're in…_

Hisoka raised his head from Tsuzuki's chest, meeting the man's warm, purple eyes. The same emotion was in there; was the music playing? Had it stopped? He wasn't sure. Were they still moving?

What was that feeling?

Tentative lips brushed against his own, warm and soft and wonderful. They lingered there.

------

It didn't mean they were suddenly lovers. They wouldn't be moving in together. It simply meant that as long as it had taken, Hisoka had finally gotten it. He realized what Tsuzuki had been trying to tell him for so long.

And the emotion which had eluded him, confused him? It was love. And perhaps it wasn't as much of a shock to learn that as it should have been. Tsuzuki had loved him for a long time, and Hisoka just hadn't seen it.

* * *

Author's Notes; I loved writing that final scene. And the first scene, too. Hell, I loved writing the whole damn thing. It was just… Ah! Squee! Tsuzuki x Hisoka is such a cute pairing to write, I don't know why I was avoiding writing them for so long. Thank you for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed the Valentine's Day story. It was a pleasure to write for you all, especially considering all the positive reviews I gained in return.

Laustic- Yeah, Hisoka's bad at getting gifts. Well, if you spent sixteen years of your life beaten and locked in a cage and angsting over in the emo corner, I guess you'd be bad at getting them, too. And Tsuzuki…-grin- Tsuzuki's gifts are just so funny.

Kirihana- Oh, good. I was hoping you weren't late. Happy Valentine's to you, too! Here's the last chapter for you, I hope you enjoy.

Alice- Yep, sorry, it's over. Hisoka did finally give in, didn't he? He was looking forward to it. Silly empath, he doesn't even realize it. He does now, though, I think!

Rin- Watari has some of the best lines because he's so fun to write. I mean, you just can't go wrong with Watari. Yeah, I saw that small awkward phrasing thing, and I'll have to go back and edit that. Yes, they did get together, in a sense of the word. I think Hisoka would have trouble with rushing into any really serious relationships after his ordeal, and Tsuzuki, too. But I wanted them to kiss.

Thank you for reading the story, and I remain humbly yours,  
--Phoenix Wand


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